Wittman: 'We didn't play together, with any enthusiasm...'

CSN Washington dot com well I mean first have we -- Together it. Within the enthusiasm. Just really. No room. We've rafter have a little bit of success we've now or. Stripped Terrell. You know minutes and shots and points and I thought that really Kryptonite. CSN Washington dot com.

CSN Washington dot com Corey don't always go oh. you plan though that you in December that was just the old bit off. Way off. The matter of fact. Something that's never ever occurred to me. You know in the thirty years you know I've been coaching and recruiting and you know it was it was a December evening. Brian Stewart when defensive coordinator and defensive back coach would fly into Westphal we're OC will likely. Outstanding player out than probably Florida out near Lake Okeechobee and so we get car. That the airport. Brian plugs in the the address of the GPS so you know how we go west. You know to Belle and we go out there and drive and all of a sudden go straight you're going to go beltway if you can go to the right you're going up towards And so if it took a soft going to as house abroad. This is that right and out here plenty of times recruiting and everything it. And I know I know that if we keep bonus that you this is right coach you know what the GPS got a skull and undergo a little bit more mean and now you're out of nowhere pitcher sugar cane fields were we went past the refinery. You know it's it's dark it's 7 o'clock at night. And all of a sudden says okay come up your take leftist Romo would go up and up got to take left they're probably the development of you know maybe 1012 houses and you know was a two lane road that we came off of we go down you know take left the development take another right built by nice church there now well here's the streets. Does that history well but only about 32 to three houses on that street and it's so dark. You can't even see the numbers on house so you know worship there and seven minutes or so that rulings and this that this isn't right so I don't phones article will. Talk him on the street you know what I'm Rory you know this stuff and threw it up next thing you know here comes to pick up truck. Pulls up on the side of us for the car behind us. And or Ryan addition good. I think we need to go and so we go in and take we've come out come out just take normal speak all of a sudden now we got to pick up truck. Behind car trying to come up and will now this development so we go. And throughout he's of Randy hold on. You know so we come out and we get back out we come out of the development. You know especially good in on this too late next thing you know. You know the pickup trucks on our bumper trying to drivers off the road the other cars coming on the outside of us. You know Bryant has called 911 and he says hold on and he slammed thing so we're going for about three miles has gotten on one wanted to play. I'm the head coach University of Maryland I've done nothing wrong with being chased out here can you send a police officer out there in case something happens. You know it so we go for about three miles we come down. And though we ended up gaining some ground to get away you know to move in front of a gut this like we took a right which took the right day. You know they disappear you know so I'm sitting there are saying my title said I've never ever experienced any thing. You know like that. Hope so we call will. We'll drive back you know now in the beltway we come up and all of a sudden this sport and I'm looking like. One of you look at. And roll the windows down it was it was will's dad so he got to you know where the house wasn't. You know the good thing is is. You know I don't know we'll belts are worse but you know will's own themselves all worked out the window before the coaching staff was chasing the code. CSN Washington dot com.

CSN Washington dot com. Don't don't don't don't don't. And yeah. yeah. I. Well the cap goes T I'm chuck with Alan may it's been a long time I'm not too long. the talk about the caps I. Ten games into the season they're in last place. 27 and one I don't think anybody expected this I think we all expected. And Adam Oates break in period but what's your take on this is this team better than it's record right now. Well it to be positive if ten games in and normalcy in this week's rankings in the pre season so really with so many things changing. The person all the coaches and the players. It's easy to be hyper critical and very negative but you're seeing penalty killing improve your power play improve. The players thought the group and now that it's got a certain things with the puck. The next ten game segment we're really tell the tale this team is now are right now I don't you can't throw it out. There just a few games below 500 you ten games below got to creep back to 500 and if they can do that they're definitely agree to the end of the season. You know I talked with some of the people with the Devils they said the same thing happened with that system they went 1212 and one. And then they took off they were twenty games over 500 after that. The question is for the 48 game season how fast they have to get this thing moving. Well I think it's kind of overrated a lot of people say if you had a five game losing streak and watch Lockett forty games or some teams ahead three year extended losing streaks and still made the playoffs the capitals were one of the worst teams. In the last walked forty games so you have to take into consideration you just got to find a way to get the 500 and go from there because it's gonna take 24. Point five wins in the playoffs for combination of the points. So you have to stick with that and once this system because it's so intricate and some more details. Once it does take off players and they'll find their offensive rhythm and no one has right now offensively so that's the good thing. And when you look at the standings you know there are only four points out of playoffs so it's not like it's it that insurmountable. CSN Washington dot com.

I caps are ten games deep hands at the bottom of the standings in the NHL now. And it keeps telling us not to worry because everything's all right the caps are playing well. Do you buy sell that. I I I I think that they are playing well as far as when you look at effort. no Mike Ribeiro. Will consistently say listen we need to play sixty minutes which I completely agree with. But I think the efforts there I think they are understanding the system I know they only have two wins I don't expect them to get. A ton a ton of wins this year but I think now when out of most talks about the big picture and dealing with personnel. And superstars and that type of thing I'd and I finally say. Coaching craze is all well and good but in the end the points are what matter JP do you buy or sell notes. You know I think that I excel on them playing well they're stretches where they're playing all right they're playing better maybe than they were very early in the season. And he sees sort of a vision may be of where this is supposed to go what it's supposed to look like. But they're there may still making glaring mental mistakes. Far too often and seems like every single one of them. Is burning them so I'm not quite ready to go with playing well yet but they're certainly playing. Better than their record and probably deserve a few more points somewhere over these first ten games. The caps are dealing with a lot of brand new pieces. dealing with new players coming up from the minors and of course shortened season new coach third system and about a year so. Is that nuts trying to do too much with these guys. And there are perhaps could be some of that I think that. He knows the personnel that he has I think that when you look at the personnel they have. They're probably playing close to their potential minus you know obviously Ovechkin wants to play better and I think actually probably wants to play better. like Marcus Johansson needs to play better for short and I think that is doing what he can. With the personnel. He had I don't think it's too much. I think you might be trying to do a little too much with the defense you know this is. Assistant he wants to have predicated on defenseman who can skate with the puck and moves the puck up ice and back quite frankly he's got price three guys that can do that right now. In Mike Green Carl Stern John Carlson and past that you've got some depth guys who were a little slow not great with the puck. So I think that he may want to dial that back a little bit and bring that in. And the other thing is his whole system you know he's likened it to the Jersey's system and what LA kings did. Last year being a little more aggressive with the fore check moving the puck up ice and everything. The thing is with those teams you had mark hamburger you had Jonathan Quick goal he's not in the goaltending right now. Where's his system is really going to be bailed out when mistakes are made and I think you're seeing that so. You know he and you might be trying to do too much with the personnel he has right now. But we'll see if if if if the personnel can adjust to what he wants to do. And it's going to be hard to adjust right when they don't have a lot of practice time in between games how many games like every other night. Are so we have come up with a good the bad and the ugly for your viewing pleasure each of us we'll tackle one of those topics you feel that good at it. I have to be the end because as you as pointed out I'm rocking and add to that the good for me I think in the big obvious Mike Ribeiro leading the team in points. He's obviously been a standup guy a guy in the dressing room that. That the guys listen to. But certainly consistent on the ice and consistently productive on the ice well I'll tackle the bad then that penalty kill that they have to get on all the time because they're taking. Way too many penalties and our boundaries frivolous and you've seen this many I'm hungry cats and ten games and it's. Hideous is what it is so maybe you should change that aren't there but we'll go with you. Cat I mean I guess that makes sense you're certainly good years. Definitely bad. If so an ugly I would say would be good goaltending so far certainly statistically. And both are just horrendous that save percentage goals against average. The goals that they lead and particularly and hope they have been leaky they've been deflating. They've been. Everything that he was not in the playoffs last year against Boston and the Rangers. And you know Michael leveraged and better but his numbers are still. Far from where they need to be if this team is going to turn around and get where they wanna be. You know JPM going to take that as a compliment from him I said I was speaking of turning things around he. What of the caps need to do to turn. It. Well. In out I had. I guess this is the segment around long enough for that you know they need more from Alex Ovechkin it's. Obvious point number one it would be great to get like back in the lineup and they need saves from their goalies. If they get those three things. Going I think that this can turn around and look a lot better than it has. You know I AA playoffs as. I know if they'll make the playoffs even with those dating I mean that I don't I don't even know if I would say they would turn it around I think they'll be much improved. With those three things and I think. They need. Different personnel I think they need another elite Winger. And obviously they need to match can get going for it from being another elite Winger and I think I mean besides Brooks like another second line Winger I think. I just getting more offense. In that this lineup and I don't think you're gonna find that with the guys you have are loving guys they have there they work hard. Their effort is there every night but they need those natural kind of goal scorers that are gonna get it done for you. On a consistent basis let me add one more still a top four defenseman because their defense. That you mentioned the goalies having that terrible stats but a lot of that. And credit to the defense just leaving them completely hanging out to drive are able we've been on playoffs if you wanna take a stab at it that made the playoffs. I think that the math is getting very difficult for them very quickly and it in less than that things turn around dramatically they've gone. I've got a streak sustained streak sometime soon it's gonna get bags they probably need. 48 more points or so in the 38 remaining games and that's. That's a tall task especially based on what we've seen so far. Until do you think that team has the mental fortitude to turn things around to go through this out of the spell and being able to jump out of it. So. May be in years past I haven't thought that team. Bill. Similarly in that dressing room didn't have it. I think they do this year I think they have. Expecting their mentally strong and I think a big part of that is Alex Ovechkin I've seen in a difference in him I've seen certainly immaturity. Where he can lead that charge whereas I think maybe before he was still so. Not young per say but image or emotionally where he just rode those ups and downs so much and I think now he's way more even keel and I've seen in the past. And I think I agree with that I think Adam is doing a great job keeping this team positive coaching them up you hear them acted the same things every day in the locker room that they're playing well it's exactly what I would telling us as well. So clearly they're getting it from him and that I think they actually believe it last night very frustrated after. Their loss to with the Maple Leafs and after their loss to Pittsburgh. But it. Even though they were frustrated even they're airing that of those a little bit they're still coming off as positive thing that there's hope for the future know they're going to turn things around and they think no one cares so. And they were gonna get out of here with a huge for joining me he. and next week on capitol for a CSN Washington dot com.